Despite a stark correlation with higher rates of skin cancer, nearly one-third of white high school girls have used a tanning bed more than once in the past year.

One third of American white girls are flirting with a future that may not be so bright.

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that 29.3% of non-Hispanic white high school girls use a tanning bed more than once a year, dramatically increasing their risk of developing skin cancer.

“This widespread use is of great concern given the elevated risk of skin cancer among younger users and frequent users.” the study, which was published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, stated.

Earlier studies cited by the CDC have shown that indoor tanning before the age of 35 increases melanoma risk by 59% to 75%, and “use before the age of 25 increases nonmelanoma skin cancer risk by 40% to 102%.”

Melanoma rates among white women are “steadily increasing,” the study noted, and risk of melanoma “increases by 1.8% with each additional tanning session per year.”

With each subsequent use of a tanning bed, the risk of melanoma increases by 1.8%, the CDC reported.

(PRNewsFoto)

Six states—Illinois, California, Vermont, Oregon, Nevada and Texas — have passed bans on underage tanning, but the CDC data showed that by the age of 18, 44% of white girls had used a tanning bed in the past calendar year.

A $5 billion a year industry, tanning salons are unlikely to simply close up shop without a fight, despite the mounting evidence that their services lead to increased risk of skin cancer.

“CDC’s short letter in JAMA calls for policy action, but in doing so ignores mountains of conflicting and confounding data which support teaching sunburn prevention to people of all ages, instead of targeting sun abstinence campaigns at young women,” The American Suntanning Association, a trade group that represents tanning salons, said in a statement. “It could not be any more clear that skin cancer rates are skyrocketing in men, and particularly men over age 50, but CDC has inexplicably ignored this group.”

The World Health Organization has classified tanning beds as “carcinogenic to humans,” and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that using them can lead to serious health risks.